Prevalence of Depression and Associated Factors in HIV-Positive Adults Attending an Antiretroviral Clinic in Jos, Nigeria (original) (raw)

Clinical depression has been associated with various chronic disease conditions. The chronic course of HIV, fostered by the use of antiretroviral therapy in infected patients, puts them at risk of developing clinical depression which unfortunately, is often underdiagnosed and therefore undertreated. The study estimated the prevalence of depression and associated factors amongst adult patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in a clinic in Jos, using the PHQ-9 questionnaire. Three hundred and fourteen patients with a mean age of 45 ± 10 years were enrolled in a descriptive cross-sectional study. There were 63 males and 251 females, with mean known duration of HIV infection of 11 ± 4 years. Depression was found to be common in the group. Thirty one percent of the patients had depression, and of these, 83 (85%) had mild depression while 12 (12%) had moderate depression and 3 (3%) had moderately severe depression. The factors associated with depression in these patients were analysed u...